1973 Mercedes SLC

[CharlesdeGaulle]

Bloody old cars. Why do we bother?

I wanted to take it out for a spin today. Opened garage, disconnected the battery conditioner, started the car and pulled out. All fine. Then it just cut out on the drive, exactly like it had stalled. It re-started, drove for about 20 metres then cut out again and now won't re-start.

The humiliation, to say nothing of the hard work, of pushing it back onto the drive was witnessed by a number of my neighbours, who undoubtedly think I deserve it for buying so many old sheds.

Any ideas? The battery is good and the car is turning over but just not catching. If no-one has any inspiration or tips, I'll have to call a mobile mechanic next weekend.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

Perceptive comment from the poster above.

My kindly local chaps popped round and thought it might be the fuel pump. They took it away and tinkered, and for the price of 3 hours of labour - less the military discount - they have fixed the car and returned it to my drive. They sorted out tatty wiring and some rusty connections, and the car is now running normally.

Result - and not often a 'breakdown' can be fixed so cheaply; I'm a happy chap.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

I am planning on taking it to Cosford. I was tempted to take the A124 just to see if I can tout a sale with a big Clearance sticker on it, but I will take the SLC, not least because I'd really like to compare it side by side with your SL.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

The chaps that got the car re-started charged me £217 in total, and the invoice lists recovery and repair bad earth and dry joints on fuel pump wiring loom.

Seems very fair to me for recovery, diagnosis and fix - I don't think I've ever had a bill that pleasingly small before.

The next plan is to source a decent outdoor cover for it - any recommendations?

[CharlesdeGaulle]

kapiteinlangzaam said:

CharlesdeGaulle said:

The highlight of our trip to Wales was staying and eating here:

http://www.tyddynllan.co.uk/

A delightful restaurant with rooms. Obligatory shot of the car outside:

We stayed a night and ate there on our Wales trip back in 2013.

Was jolly nice.

It's delightful isn't it? It was recommended to me by Speckled Jim of this parish, and it was a top tip.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

Strela said:

I have one of these unused.

https://www.theslshop.com/mercedes-benz-107-sl-slc...

I can let you have it for a small consideration, but can't get it to you before mid-December.

Strela - that's jolly decent of you. You may not know, but will it fit the slightly longer SLC chassis? I'll do some research and may well take you up on the offer - many thanks.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

Strela said:

I believe so, but I can staple some plastic bags to the ends to make up the extra length. No problem. Waitrose bags, not Tesco.

That would do the trick, but I'm more of a Lidl sort these days. Times is hard guv, times is hard.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

Dave Hedgehog said:

my old man had one of these must be getting on for 40 years ago ...

Has he still got it? Any old pics?

[CharlesdeGaulle]

Hugo a Gogo said:

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v31/hugoagogo/sl...

My old 500SLC in happier times

Nice-looking car. The 500 must have been quite something.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

paulyv said:

Lovely thread. I look forward to reading more - particularly how you fair with the winter, should the car venture out.

The bulkhead points are well made. I do have a very little damp in my footwell and it is undoubtedly going to be related to what should be the non-porous area behind the engine but at the time of purchase it did not fail the 'pull on the windscreen wipers and see if you hear a crunch' test. Given the rarity of silver SLC's I bit the bullet and will get it looked at and dealt with in the spring.

Lovely colour - the car wears it well.

Pauly

Thanks. The car will get used over the winter. It's currently kept outside but the buyer of my 124 cabrio collects next week, so the SLC can go in the garage and get properly dried out. I'm pretty certain the rear light seals are the cause of the damp in the boot.

Do get your bulkhead properly checked. The vents at the top of the bonnet get blocked and water sits in there. My vents were bad, and the bulkhead needed some restoration, but we caught it in time and it was fairly straightforward.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

The car has been well-used over the autumn, and I have used it pretty regularly through the winter so far, although I am avoiding using it in the wet if I can. Since its refusal to start some time back, it’s been a delight. The significant change has been the sale and departure of the 124 cabrio, so the SLC is now garaged for the first time and it’s made quite a difference.

I have managed to dry out the boot completely by sticking a fan heater into the boot for a day, and think I have traced the source of the leak to the right rear light seal. A new one was ordered from the SL Shop and arrived today, so I’ll fit that when the garage is warm and light enough to work comfortably in.

The seals aren’t cheap; this was £54:



I’ve also got some searches running for a radio delete blanking panel, and am awaiting the arrival of a model designation badge from Australia (postage-free, no less!) that I plan to either keep as a spare or to cut up to create an almost-authentic blanking panel of my own.



Seems a shame to cut it up, and the boot letters and numbers are too big for the dashboard really, but it might make an interesting DIY panel if I can’t get a proper one.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

I do have a (rather nasty 80s) radio but it doesn't work; I think the wiring is at fault and I know the aerial isn't properly connected. Anyway, I like the blanking panels.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

That radio does look good. I could buy that just to stick in the hole and look good until I decide whether or not to find a blanking plate.
ETA - nothing gets shipped before 5 Feb, and it's a 1978 radio for a 73 car.

Edited by CharlesdeGaulle on Saturday 30th December 17:09

[CharlesdeGaulle]

Thanks andy43 - that looks nice and retro.

I fear that r129sl might have rather spoiled me for a Becker now, but this Blaupunkt is spot-on for period if not for marque.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

As previously mentioned, I am looking for a radio delete plate.

I have discovered this:
https://www.ebay.de/itm/253280994934


which would be perfect if the colour matched my interior:


What to do? Wait for the right one to come up, or buy this and re-cover it? And if so, with what?

I can't think how to get the right coloured vinyl unless I buy a sun visor or something and strip it, but will it ever look as good as the proper thing?

[CharlesdeGaulle]

r129sl said:

Get it bought and coloured or covered!!!

You might be waiting a long time for another one.

As usual, you're absolutely right. I think I've just bought it but have also sent a message in German which says something like 'what size are your granny's pants' according to google translate. If I can avoid an international incident, I may be quids-in.

Strela said:

Just to recap, is the boot badge a different size to the one on the blanking panel?

It is larger, yes, I have one inbound and had thought about cutting it up to suit, but it'll never really look right.

I'll see what it looks like and then will probably try Stegel's suggestion of paint.

Funny how these charmingly addictive old things can get you into places and with a browsing history that you'd never imagined when you ignored someone's well-informed opinion and just bought the thing on a distant spring-time whim.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

Well I've made some progress with my ugly radio. I removed this (pic from original auction site)



Which left me with this:


and then added the delete plate in the wrong colour that I bought from Germany.


Having established that it fits, I needed to do something about the colour.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

The bay of dreams produced a spray vinyl paint in MB Parchment that looked as though it might be a decent match. I took the plate apart, cleaned it and then painted the base.



A bit too light, and rather disappointing, especially considering the cost.

A visit to Halfords followed, and a Rover colour looked more promising. I bought that and tried again, but it was a long way from the indicative colour band on the lid, and still a bit too light. Nonetheless, it looks better in daylight than it does here with a phone camera flash, and is a much better match to the heater control part of the fascia that I was trying to match. Far from perfect, but not too bad - and much less shiny - in daylight.


I am undecided on the way ahead. I may re-assemble the panel and see how it looks 'finished', or may re-paint for a third attempt whilst it's all stripped. Any thoughts?

Edited by CharlesdeGaulle on Saturday 27th January 21:26

[CharlesdeGaulle]

wolfracesonic said:

Why not paint it black or have it trimmed in black vinyl/leather to match the black band above it? The SLC logo in chrome would really stand out on that.

As Andy43 said subsequently, colour matched would have been original.

bigfella70 said:

Apologies if I've missed this bit but are you planning on a hidden stereo installation or just omitting one altogether.

The current plan is to omit. The last one didn't work anyway, and the electric aerial appears not to be properly connected. I tend not to play music in my classics anyway, but I've banded the old wiring together in the dash so can re-instate pretty readily if I choose to. In due course, once the more immediate jobs are sorted, I will probably stick a really nice old Becker in there.

[CharlesdeGaulle]

Thank you (I think) r129sl!

But, as so often, you're right. Stegel had earlier mentioned the challenge of finding something to match to, and with a series of shades evident, I don't think it does matter that much. I'm going to ensure the final coat is properly dry and then re-assemble and stick it in and leave it. To be frank, there are very many more important issues to address.